


Another You

by ZippyZapmeister



Category: Love Live! School Idol Festival (Video Game), Love Live! School Idol Project, Love Live! Sunshine!!
Genre: (eventually) - Freeform, Clone Sex, Clones, F/F, Married Life, tags to come as the fic updates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-18
Updated: 2018-08-18
Packaged: 2019-06-29 06:50:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15724173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZippyZapmeister/pseuds/ZippyZapmeister
Summary: Hanamaru gets lonely when Dia's working all of the time. Ruby proposes a solution.





	Another You

**Author's Note:**

> I regret to inform you that there's no sex in this chapter lmao

 

_Home late tonight, I’m sorry. Don’t wait up. Love you._

 

Hanamaru dropped her phone flat on her face, ignoring the pain in her nose. Another night, another clipped text from Dia. There really wasn’t a use in telling Hanamaru not to wait up when it was already eleven o’clock at night, but at least Dia was attempting to be considerate. That didn’t mean Hanamaru wasn’t angry, though.

 

A simple “K” was her response. She didn’t know much about texting, but she knew a one-letter response was more than enough to show her emotions. Dia read the message, signified by the little check mark that popped up by it. Dia began to type, then stopped, then started, then stopped...

 

Finally, she responded, _Don’t be that way. Please._

 

_Don’t tell me what way to be_

 

_I’m not telling you what way to be...I’m just telling you NOT to be THAT way._

 

_K_

 

_Hanamaru. It’ll be hard for me to work knowing you’re angry with me._

 

_Then don’t work and maybe come home instead?_

 

Another check mark. That time, Dia didn’t reply. Hanamaru wasn’t sure if Dia was angry enough to quit responding, or if she was feeling bad. It probably made her a bad wife, but Hanamaru was hoping it was the latter.

 

After all, there had been so many nights since their marriage with Dia not coming home that Hanamaru had to question whether Dia was really sorry. What did apologies mean if the same thing happened every time? Dia was always working, working, working, trying to be the _perfect_ candidate to take over her father’s company. “If...no, _when_ that happens,” Dia would say, almost every day, “no more long hours. I’ll be with you whenever you need me, and even when you don’t.”

 

It had been two years.

 

Granted, they were very well off. Dia’s position, although so _strenuous,_ paid graciously. Money stopped mattering to Hanamaru when it became clear Dia was using it as a means of distracting Hanamaru from her absence. That brought Hanamaru to Dia’s other means of distraction, which actually worked: Ruby.

 

Dia’s intentions were always good, but it sometimes seemed a little motherly, the way she told Hanamaru to call upon Ruby. Almost like Dia was setting them up on playdates. Ruby’s girlfriend Yoshiko was always away, too, although a bit less successful than Dia. Yoshiko worked with a traveling theater troupe, trying to break into the world of show business. Hanamaru was never one to talk dirty about her friends behind their backs, but Dia did it enough for the both of them; Yoshiko’s career wasn’t really going anywhere.

 

Knowing that, Dia found it imperative that Hanamaru and Ruby sought solace in each other when needed. Her plan worked masterfully. Hanamaru was always calling Ruby late at night, when they were both waiting for their lovers to come home. Ruby would answer in a sleepy voice, insisting that Yoshiko would be home in _just_ a few minutes, no matter how obvious it was that Yoshiko was on the road somewhere.

 

However, lately, Ruby had been breaking the cycle. She’d answer after Hanamaru had called several times, instead of on the first ring. Even then, she’d sound distracted, and Hanamaru could hear bits and pieces of Yoshiko’s voice in the background...but Ruby would insist that Yoshiko wasn’t home.

 

Hanamaru was feeling a little gutsy, after standing up to Dia. She figured she’d keep the ball rolling and get to the bottom of Ruby’s mystery that same night. Hanamaru picked up her phone again, checking one last time to see if Dia had text her back before dialing Ruby’s number. Like before, Ruby didn’t answer the first call. The second time, though, she answered, a giggle in her breathless voice. “H-hi, Hanamaru-chan!”

 

“Hi, Ruby-chan,” Hanamaru said. “Say, is Yoshiko-chan home?”

 

Hanamaru heard a laugh in the background. It wasn’t Ruby’s... “Uh, no. Not right now...”

 

“Are you sure...? Because I’m pretty sure I hear her, zura.”

 

“No, really, she’s not!”

 

Hanamaru knew Ruby well enough to know that she was lying. She had been lying the whole time and Hanamaru knew it. That night, Hanamaru was going to dig deeper instead of ignoring her intuition. “Ruby-chan! C’mon! You’re not being fair. What’s the big secret?”

 

“I-I can’t tell you.”

 

“So, there _is_ a secret?”

 

“Uh...no! There isn’t,” Ruby backtracked. “S-seriously, Maru-chan, don’t ask...”

 

Hanamaru was feeling her emotions go from curious to frustrated. Hanamaru hated having secrets kept from her...especially from her best friend. “Come on. I won’t tell anybody. Pretty please,” Hanamaru whined.

 

Ruby didn’t have the strength or determination to keep a secret for too long. Ruby finally broke, keeping her voice low. “Alright. But you can't tell anybody...if you even believe me.”

 

“Of course I'll believe you, zura!”

 

“Yoshiko-chan has a clone.”

 

“Never mind. I don't believe you.”

 

Ruby huffed. “See? That's why I didn't want to tell you! I knew you wouldn't believe me.”

 

“Cloning isn't real,” Hanamaru said. “That only happens in books, and that one sheep!”

 

“It's real,” Ruby insisted. Hanamaru wondered if Ruby was actually going crazy. Did the loneliness finally go to her head? Hanamaru was praying that never happened to her... “I've seen them both in the same room, even!”

 

Oh, yes. Ruby was _definitely_ going off the deep end. “Okay, Ruby-chan. Uh...I-I’ve gotta go, zura-”

 

“Wait, Maru-chan! D-don’t be so hasty, okay? I’m serious,” Ruby cried. “Yoshiko-chan used her fallen angel powers to clone herself, so that I wouldn’t be alone while she was away.”

 

That caught Hanamaru’s attention. As improbable—no, impossible—as Ruby’s situation was, it sounded like heaven. What if Hanamaru had two Dias? The real Dia could go to work and satisfy the workaholic side of her, while the clone Dia could carry on with Hanamaru as if the real Dia was never gone. It sounded like heaven.

 

A fake heaven, of course.

 

“Good for you,” Hanamaru said, awkwardly.

 

Ruby was just as frustrated. Hanamaru didn’t know what to do. Ruby was obviously delusional, but if it made her happy... “You don’t believe me. Fine! I-I’ll make you believe me! When will onee-chan be home again?”

 

“She’s not out of town right now, zura. Just coming home late.”

 

“Next time she’s out of town, tell me. And I’ll prove you wrong!”

 

Ruby hung up.

* * *

Hanamaru was left wondering what to do when Ruby attempted to “prove” that Yoshiko could clone people. Should she play along, say that Ruby was right? Or insist that the lack of actual proof made it clear that Ruby was going insane? _Just in case I decide to go with the second option, I should probably start looking up therapists in the area...that kind of psychopathy definitely needs a shrink,_ Hanamaru thought.

 

Finally, the time came. A month later, Dia left for a weekend-long trip to Kyoto. Hanamaru was hoping Ruby had forgotten about what had happened, because Hanamaru herself was trying to put it out of mind, but Ruby remembered, and she called Hanamaru the morning of Dia’s departure. Oddly enough, she asked for a strand of Dia’s hair.

 

“Wh-why? Why Dia-chan?”

 

“Because,” Ruby said, “Yoshiko-chan said she’d clone onee-chan for you. Then you won’t be lonely, either!”

 

Hanamaru felt her heart jump at that. She felt excitement, even though she knew what Ruby was proposing was impossible. “Thanks,” she sighed.

 

That was on a Friday, and Dia was supposed to be back on Sunday night. Hanamaru hadn’t heard from Ruby for all of Friday, so by Saturday morning, she had assumed Ruby had either hit a dead-end in her fantasy or had dropped it completely.

 

As it turned out, it was neither. Much to Hanamaru’s surprise, there was a knock at the door around noon on Saturday. She hadn’t been expecting anybody, and she hadn’t quite gotten ready to order some pizza for lunch, so she was hesitant to open it. The only explanation she could think of was Dia sending her another fruit basket to make up for her absence.

 

Instead, it was Dia.

 

Hanamaru gasped. “Hey, why aren’t you in Kyoto? And where’s your key, zura?! You’re so mean for making me get up to open the door for you...”

 

“I’m not the original Dia. I don’t have a key.”

 

Hanamaru paused. The words were so strange coming from Dia’s lips, so unexpected. Then, she laughed. “I can’t _believe_ Ruby-chan and Yoshiko-chan got you to play along with this prank, zura,” Hanamaru said, giggling. “Seriously, what did they have to do for you?”

 

“It isn’t a prank.”

 

There was something deadpan about Dia’s tone, something that made her words even more frightening. Hanamaru laughed again, although awkwardly, hoping Dia would snicker along and say she was just kidding, off to Kyoto she went! But, no. Hanamaru got none of that. Dia seemed to determined to make sure Hanamaru believed her. Hanamaru ran to the couch, picking up her cellphone. “Then I guess you won’t mind if I call you, zura,” she said.

 

Dia shrugged. “By all means.”

 

Hanamaru called Dia, then put the call on speaker just so the so-called “clone” could hear exactly when its lies were figured out. The phone didn’t ring aloud, and Dia folded her arms, but Hanamaru scoffed. “So, what? You have it on silent! I’m no dummy-”

 

" _Hello_?"

 

Hanamaru paused. The voice was Dia’s, but it wasn’t the Dia in front of her. It came from the phone. “H-hello? Dia-chan?” Hanamaru said. She watched the Dia in front of her, and her lips didn’t move, even as Dia’s voice came through the phone.

 

" _Yes? Is everything alright? I’m a little busy. I’d love to talk, but it’d be better if I called you back when I had some spare time, unless it’s something_ _urgent_ _._ "  Hanamaru felt a wave of vertigo. She reached out and touched Dia’s cheeks, and Dia smirked in a way that was so _Dia_ that it _had_ to be her...

 

“I...I think I’m fine,” Hanamaru said. “Um...n-never mind...I’ll talk to you later...”

 

“ _Alright. Love you-_ "

 

Hanamaru hung up the phone, then backed up slowly. The clone didn’t move, except for a blink. “You...you’re also Dia-chan,” Hanamaru said.

 

“No. I’m a clone of Dia,” the clone said. “But you can call me Dia-chan, if you’d like. That’s why Yohane-sama sent me here.”

 

The words “Yohane-sama” in Dia’s voice made Hanamaru want to vomit. “No! No, you don’t...you don’t call her that,” Hanamaru said. “You call her ‘Yoshiko’! I-I mean, _Dia-chan_ calls her that!”

 

“Sorry. That’s why _Yoshiko_ sent me here. I’m going to be a carbon copy of Dia, for whenever you need me,” the clone said.

 

“S-sit down on the couch. And don’t move!” The clone sat on the couch. God, it even _sat_ like Dia: the primly folded hands, the ramrod posture. And the cool, crystal-clear eyes...that was the most striking part. Hanamaru was partially convinced that it was a prank, but she was too scared to dial Dia’s number again, because the first phone call was far too surreal. Hanamaru walked around to the other side of the coffee table, standing as far away from the clone as possible. How could it be that the Dia that Hanamaru knew was sitting before her, so uncanny? Hanamaru observed her, looking over every little detail to make sure it was the Dia she knew. There was nothing blatantly obvious, which only made things worse. The clone was so _Dia._ “What do I do with you when Dia-chan actually comes home?”

 

The clone didn’t even have to think. “I’ll go back to Yoshiko’s house and wait for whenever you need me again.” Well, that was reasonable, Hanamaru thought. Yoshiko was the only person who was completely aware about the clone other than Hanamaru and Ruby, of course...and Hanamaru wouldn’t even _dream_ of telling Dia what Yoshiko had done. “You look skeptical. I promise, there’s no need for you to be. It’s me, Hanamaru. It’s just Dia.”

 

Hanamaru shivered, hard. The clone was doing that gentle, maiden-like smile that Dia rarely showed to anybody but Hanamaru. The smile that said “you’re safe with me”. Even if it wasn’t _her_ Dia, Hanamaru was falling under a spell, and quick. “W-we’ll see how things go this weekend, zura,” Hanamaru said. “Like a trial run.”

 

“Is there anything special you’d like me to do for your comfort?”

 

“Well, don’t say things like that! Dia-chan isn’t like that. She just does what she wants, unless I give her a cute puppy-dog face to make her do stuff for me,” Hanamaru said. “Just be normal, okay? If you can manage that.”

 

The clone huffed. “That puppy-dog face does _not_ work on me.”

 

Wow. That sounded...legitimate. The physical aspect of the clone checked out, and it seemed like the personality aspect was coming around, too. “Yeah. Like that,” Hanamaru breathed.

 

Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.

* * *

Hanamaru had told the clone right off the bat to act just like Dia, but the clone had other plans. Hanamaru hated to admit it, but she was _better._ Of course, her mannerisms and even her memories were the same as Dia’s, but there was a huge difference: work. Clone Dia didn’t _do_ any work. She had offered to tap away at Dia’s desktop computer if it made the experience seem authentic for Hanamaru, but Hanamaru was starting to wonder if the clone had brought her a new opportunity...an opportunity to see her wife deprived of her daily dose of workahol.

 

And it was glorious. They didn’t leave the house (after all, it would be quite awkward for someone they knew to see “Dia”, who was supposed to be out of town), but Hanamaru was having the time of her life. Everything fell together so naturally; the clone still had that same “Dia” aura that made Hanamaru fall in love every single time. They made lunch together, complete with Clone Dia trying to boss Hanamaru around in the kitchen. Then they snuggled on the couch, talking until it got dark; then they ordered pizza and a movie. Before Hanamaru knew it, the clone’s first “trial run” day was over...and Hanamaru had forgotten it was a trial at all, until it came time to wash up and get ready for bed.

 

“Ah...Yoshiko informed me that my sister was uncomfortable with being naked around Yoshiko’s clone,” Clone Dia said slowly. “I’m not sure if you feel the same way. What would you like me to do? Join you in the bath, or wait?”

 

“Oh! Well...I had kind of forgotten you were a clone, for a second,” Hanamaru admitted. “But, now that you mention it...d-do you mind waiting for me to get out, zura?”

 

The clone nodded her head in understanding. “It’s no problem, dear. I’ll be waiting for you.”

 

Hanamaru showered on her own. She was glad, because it gave her some time to think. She really had fallen under the spell of that clone so quickly...was it wrong for her to do that? _But it’s not cheating, or anything. It’s still Dia-chan, through and through. Besides, we haven’t done anything wrong. Everything I did today, I could have done just as well with one of my friends! We didn’t kiss, or shower together, or..._

 

Hanamaru bit her lip. There was no way she’d fuck a clone...right?

 

She decided to cross that bridge when she got there. At that point, she was in it for the company, the kind of company that only Dia could give. But, with the clone being so good at its job, maybe Dia _wasn’t_ the only one who could give that kind of company.

 

The clone was sitting on the bed when Hanamaru got out, watching the news intently. So Dia-like, it was almost frightening. She looked up when Hanamaru sat next to her, then interlocked their fingers. “I’ll go shower,” Clone Dia said.

 

But Hanamaru didn’t want to let go. She held onto the clone’s hand harder, which got her a roll of the eyes. “No! Turn on somethin’ good and snuggle me until I fall asleep!”

 

“You’re just insatiable, you know. I ought to charge you for every hug I give you.”

 

The tone was just serious enough to sound like Dia. Hanamaru felt like she was in heaven. Or something _better_ than heaven...if such a thing hadn’t existed, then Clone Dia had just invented it. “You can’t put a price on something so good, zura,” Hanamaru cooed. Dia groaned, but slid up to her side anyway, holding her close. “You can shower after I fall asleep, ‘kay? But just...”

 

Hanamaru trailed off. She was afraid to fall asleep, because every time she fell asleep in her dreams, she woke up, and the day she had had was so good that there was no way it was real. But the clone felt like Dia, smelled like Dia, and gave off those fiercely protective vibes that always lulled Hanamaru into a peaceful rest...

* * *

When the morning came, Hanamaru was alone. Not only that, but instead of waking up on her own time, she was jolted awake by her cell phone ringing. The rude awakening only made her think that the day before was merely a fever dream, something her mind had crafted out of desperation...but the caller was Ruby, and what she had to say clearly proved that the day before was real.

 

“So? How did it go? Sorry she left so quickly...Yoshiko-chan got scared that onee-chan’d come home early, so she told the clone to come back,” Ruby said.

 

Hanamaru hummed noncommittally, trying to collect her tired thoughts. The memories of the day before came back to her piece by piece: so much affection, so much attention, so much _love_ that the real Dia tried so hard to give but sometimes just didn’t have the time to. It was refreshing. “I want her back next time Dia-chan goes out of town, zura.”

 

“Really?! It went that well?! Gosh, that’s great! I’m so glad you gave it a try,” Ruby said excitedly. “Didn’t I tell you?”

 

“Part of it is still weird,” Hanamaru admitted. “Especially...um...the showering together part. Or, her seeing me naked. O-or anything too intimate at all, zura. I know it’s weird to ask, but...do you ever do stuff with Yoshiko-chan’s clone?”

 

Ruby yelped into the phone. Even after all of those years, Ruby still hadn’t gotten over the Puritan-esque “sex is bad, never talk about it” speeches that she had gotten from Dia. “Um, sometimes! Maybe! The weird parts get better. You’ll be fine. U-uh, I gotta go. Let me know when onee-chan gets home!”

 

“Wait, Ruby-”

 

“Bye!”

 

Hanamaru shouldn’t have expected anything more from a person that shy, but she was still disappointed. She wanted answers, guidance. She didn’t have a moral standpoint because the situation she was in was something she’d never faced before. She was already feeling guilty for enjoying the presence of the clone so much...what if she ever allowed herself to feel lust towards it? The thought was terrifying.

 

Dia didn’t come home early like Yoshiko had feared, so Hanamaru was left by herself until night came. That gave her plenty of time to think, but she spent most of it fantasizing instead. She had visions of Dia, holding her close and kissing her tenderly. But was she seeing the clone, or the real Dia?

 

By the end of the night, Hanamaru had came to the conclusion that it didn’t matter. Sure, the clone wasn’t _Dia,_ but it was. Hanamaru didn’t want anybody else but Dia. A real cheater wouldn’t be cheating with the same person, would they? Hanamaru wanted to be sure of herself. She loved Dia, and didn’t want anybody else. That was the bottom line.

 

When Hanamaru heard Dia’s key in the lock, she was finally thrown out of her stupor. Dia came in the door with a lot more energy than Hanamaru had expected. Usually, after long trips, Dia wanted to do little more than unpack, shower, and sleep for hours. For once, she didn’t seem so exhausted. It was already ten PM, but Hanamaru didn’t want to sleep when her wife had finally gotten home.

 

“I missed you,” Hanamaru chirped, as soon as Dia dropped her bags.

 

Dia sat on the couch next to Hanamaru, and they shared a kiss. It was then that Hanamaru really noticed why Dia was so energetic; their kiss was more than the simple “hello” kiss. Dia had one hand on Hanamaru’s cheek, the other on her thigh. That was what Hanamaru was missing. Not the sexual part of their relationship, but the concept of attention, the _want_ that Dia displayed.

 

And there was certainly a lot of want there.

 

When Dia finally broke the kiss, she mumbled, “I missed you, too. If you can’t tell...”

 

“I can certainly tell, zura,” Hanamaru said, a laugh in her voice. “Not out here, though. Let’s go get in bed.”

 

“Mm...give me a moment.” Dia carried on as if she had never heard Hanamaru at all, pushing up the oversized t-shirt that Hanamaru was wearing. There really wasn’t a lot of space on the sofa, but Dia made it work, kissing her way up and down Hanamaru’s torso before finally settling on her breasts. That was the Dia Hanamaru knew...she was such a go-getter. So passionate about the things that she wanted and the things that she loved. Hanamaru wanted to see that whenever she wanted, not just when Dia had the time.

 

 _I’m being so selfish,_ Hanamaru thought, even as she laid there with Dia’s mouth trailing lower, lower, lower...God, Hanamaru missed it! She would never stay angry at Dia for doing what she found natural, working hard...but she missed it. She missed the humid nights where they’d fuck until they were numb, the soft mornings where they wouldn’t let the other leave the bed until they felt they’d cuddled enough. Having Dia there, finally dishing out what Hanamaru had missed out on, only made the decision clearer.

 

Hanamaru needed that clone.


End file.
